Guneet Monga: The Oscar win is relevant because we’ve put women’s struggles on the map

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Guneet Monga: The Oscar win is relevant because we’ve put women’s struggles on the map

Although it wasn’t India’s official entry to the 91st Academy Awards held in Los Angeles, the documentary ‘Period. End of Sentence’, bagged the Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category, sparking off celebrations and conversations in the country.

The film is directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Raykar Zehtabchi and producer Guneet Monga is one of the key figures behind this bold film on the stigma of menstruation. The 26-minute film follows girls and women in Hapur in Uttar Pradesh and their experience with the installation of a pad machine in their village. “I’m not crying because I’m on my period or anything. I can’t believe a film on menstruation won an Oscar,” said Zehtabchi in her acceptance speech. BT spoke to Guneet Monga about the win. Excerpts from the interview...

It must be overwhelming to win an Oscar for the documentary, ‘Period. End of Sentence’. What was that moment like when your film was announced as the winner?It was overwhelming. I couldn’t stop crying and shivering for 30 minutes. My entire team from India is here with me. Sneha, one of the key speakers in the film, was with me when we were declared winners. Mandakini Kakar, my associate who became the voice of the film, did a lot of the ground work with the team. We were screaming so loud that I eventually tweeted to AR Rahman apologising if we were too loud because he was sitting right ahead of us. This film has been fund-raised by school girls from LA and it has been made to support the conversation around menstruation and hygiene. It’s very difficult to produce such a film because it requires a lot of muscle and a lot of thinking, conviction and determination. I’m extremely happy for Sneha. She wanted to make her family, particularly her father proud of her, by becoming a cop in the Delhi Police department. She said, “Mujhe to lagta hai maine aaj hi wo kaam kar diya.” I just wish today that her dream to become a cop gets fulfilled really soon. She’s extremely hardworking.

Over the last few years, the world has started talking about women’s issues and taking cognisance of what they have to say. Your win seems to be perfectly timed, too.Yeah, there couldn’t have been a better time for this, particularly from India’s point of view. Now, women are loud and clear about what they want to say and they are being heard. Of course, women have been saying these things all along. Like the subject of this documentary. We have been talking about menstrual hygiene for a very long time. Periods are not something new. Action India’s head Gauri Chaudhary made a valid point when we were on stage that this will now get men talking about the subject. We can’t do it alone. It needs everyone’s contribution. The win is relevant today because we’ve put women’s struggles on the map, we’re trying to break the glass ceiling. Women have been the significant others for way too long. Their voices have often been suppressed. This Oscar win will help us make a difference in this respect.

How did you put this project together and how long did it take?Gauri Chaudhary has been working on creating awareness around menstrual hygiene for about 40 years, but this film was born out of Melissa Berton’s effort. She’s from Oakwood School in LA. The project started off seven years ago when she was trying to donate a pad making machine for which she got in touch with Action India. Gradually, she felt that making a movie could help the conversation reach more women and men. It took the entire team three-four years to start a campaign, pool in the funds, get the logistics in order and crack the documentary.

Arunachalam Muruganantham, a part of your documentary, also inspired ‘PadMan’ featuring Akshay Kumar. Did that at any point become a deterrent because both films were talking about the same issue in different formats?Not at all, in fact we could do with another 100 films around this subject. ‘PadMan’ just normalised the conversation around menstrual hygiene. More films will mean more conversations and that will help in a big way. Our film is about women — telling their and other womens’ stories and struggles with this taboo. That makes the narrative powerful. There were women working on our project, on camera and off it. If you see the film, you will realise that women from Hapur feel so liberated now, and the film has won hearts because of that. It has the women’s point of view from the grassroots, from women who have come out of their shells and begun to change things around them. Our previous generations fought so many other taboos; we need to fight the taboo around menstruation. Periods can’t stop girls from pursuing education or doing any other work. Sadly, there are so many schools were they don’t have proper toilets because of which girls slowly stop coming in and then drop out completely. We also have to stop joking and making remarks about periods. ‘Why is she PMSing?’. Periods are as normal as any other function of the body. People need to get that, once and for all.

You haven’t associated with a mainstream Hindi film for a while now. Do you think that decision has paid you dividends?I have been challenged and questioned for all my choices so far. I have also been told that whatever little that I have achieved is by fluke. It might not happen again. It’s not been an easy journey for me and so I am glad that I have gotten this far. This win is as relevant as it gets.

India has always yearned for an Oscar. You entered your film independently and saw it through. What do you think worked in your film’s favour?

I have spoken about how flawed our system of nominating films for the Oscars is on several occasions. It needs to change. You have to send films to festivals. Period. End of Sentence was screened at so many festivals, it participated in competitions and won at eight festivals. That built credibility. You can’t wake up one morning and decide to start your campaign for the Oscars. You can’t send a film just because a bunch of people like it. It’s a year-long exercise. You have to weigh the film on its strengths and the credibility it has built. It’s important to find the right machinery to get your film noticed at the right places. You have to select a film that has legs to walk in America. The film found overwhelming support once it was put out there for everyone to see. The team, the story, the women in the film — it all worked in its favour.

Indian cinema and filmmakers have always had the desire to win an Oscar, but none of our official entries have brought home the honour. Today, a film that was not officially backed by India has managed to do just that. How do you think people will perceive this?

Back in the day, I wrote to so many people wanting to show the film to them, including the PMO. But that’s in the past. We make simple films and take them where they will be appreciated. Today, we hope that India embraces this film and we can show it at colleges and schools. We want to involve the ministries of education and health and get this documentary out to as many young people as possible.

Does the Oscar victory put the pressure on you for your future projects?

Not at all, you show up every morning and keep at it. Who thinks about the rest? We set out to make this film with integrity and passion. It’s such a fantastic collaboration with so many people. Stacey Sher and Lisa Taback have taught me what it takes to get a film out there. They and many others have supported us to put India on the map. The academy recognised that effort and the fact that the time is so relevant for this film.

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